The busy train tracks that ran adjacent to the Leaky Cauldron made it difficult for any guests to have a lie-in as the trains whizzed past at ungodly hours of the morning. Harry thought he might quite like to be on one of them, zooming to another part of the country within a few hours, rather than spending the day shut in his room.

Remus knew how much Harry hated being cooped up and that's why the punishment worked so well, because Harry was never one to take a consequence without a bit of whining.

"Can't we stay in Diagon Alley just for the morning" Harry whined, watching Remus slip on his cardigan and adjust the arm lengths to his liking.

It was the third time already that morning that Harry had moaned about spending the day in his room, trying to persuade Remus to change his mind and they hadn't even left the Leaky Cauldron yet.

All attempts were futile however as it was just making Remus more certain that he had made the correct decision last night.

Remus contemplated ignoring the teen. Whatever he replied with was likely going to result in another moan and perhaps even a stomp of the foot which would have simply emphasised Harry's immaturity.

"No, we cannot." Remus thought about his words carefully. "If you continue to whine and complain about your punishment, then I can certainly add to it. But that is not what either of us wants, is it?"

Harry watched as the man raised his eyebrows at him. He swallowed the frustrated noise that was begging to come out of his mouth as he looked up at Remus.

"Is it?" Remus repeated, this time with a questioning tone.

"No sir," Harry replied, beginning to feel slightly bad at his behaviour already that morning, "Sorry."

With the full moon not too far away and running away last night, Harry could see his guardian, whom he'd grown to love like a father, had deep bags forming under his eyes from lack of sleep. Harry noted that Remus would also likely want to change his clothes as soon as they were home, and so, instead of delaying their departure any longer, Harry accepted defeat and picked up his satchel. Remus let out a sigh of relief at the boy's compliance.

Scanning his eyes around the room to make sure they haven't forgotten anything, Remus opened the door, holding the top with his left hand, allowing his son to walk underneath, before closing the door behind them.

"You can start walking downstairs, I'll be right behind you." Remus instructed as Harry quietly nodded and walked down the corridor.

"Alohomora" Remus spoke, to lock the room they had stayed in. He placed his wand back in the holder with a slight wince, cursing the full moon as his pains seemed to be coming on earlier this month.

Probably the stress.

Meeting Harry at the bottom of the stairs, the pair headed to the communal fireplace to use the floo.

The small inn was unusually busy for the morning with many witches and wizards having pumpkin juices and butterbears. Harry got the occasional stare but he was used to this by now.

Harry had always known who he was and what happened to his parents. Remus had never shied away from telling Harry the truth and nor would he want to. Lily and James were dear friends to Remus, as everyone knew and he made sure Harry did too.

Taking a handful of floo powder, Harry stepped in first as he knew that is what Remus would ask anyway, and spoke the incarnation on their home. He disappeared in a puff of green smoke as Remus quickly followed suit.

The pair stepped out of the fireplace and Harry looked around the living room that looked as though a small troll had been let loose inside. There were papers everywhere and the chairs were disregarded, away from the table. Coffee mugs and plates were also stacked up in the sink.

"I see you've found our makeshift headquarters from last night." Remus spoke as he watched Harry surveying the scene. "One very disobedient boy went missing, but I don't suppose you'd know anything about that would you?" Remus said sarcastically as he landed a playful swat to the boy's backside.

"Hey!" Harry protested before turning to face his guardian and keep his bum out of the firing line. He did feel his cheeks heat up a little at the mess he had caused last night however.

"Up to your room now, it's almost lunchtime and those apology letters aren't going to write themselves" Remus raised a knowing eyebrow.

"You know, most parents would cut their kid a break if they were abandoned, all alone with no money in London." Harry replied cheekily, grinning at Remus.

"I can show you abandoned but I doubt you'd find it as comfy as the warm room and bed you got to sleep in last night." This wiped the grin off his child's face as soon as it had emerged. "Besides, you only have yourself to blame."

"Merlin, you sound like Hermione" Harry half-joked, half-frowned as he put one foot on the bottom step. He turned around to say something more but his guardian got there first…

"If you do not get your sorry little backside up to your bedroom before I count to 5 then we will be having an entirely different conversation."

Harry stared at the man in disbelief. He hadn't been counted at since he was seven or eight. Surely the man had gone crazy.

"One …" Remus stepped towards the stairs where his delinquent had parked a single foot permanently on the bottom step. "Two…" With more urgency this time.

Merlin. He was actually serious.

Harry heard Remus count to three but he was already half the way up the stairs to hear the rest.

Parking his backside on his desk chair, he watched as a quill and a few rolls of parchment appeared on his desk, clearly sent by Remus downstairs.

Writing an apology letter was one thing, having to write one to Snape was a whole other deal. He decided he would leave that one until later because, quite frankly, he didn't know what he was going to say.

McGonagall and Dumbledore would be much easier to write to.

Dipping his quill into the ink, Harry unrolled the parchment.

Dear Dumbledore,

He began to scribble, - shit - he had missed out Professor.

Scribbling it out, Harry started again. This time he took more care and managed to make it past the first line. He had seen Dumbledore disappointed in him before when he and Ron flew the car to school last year, but it certainly wasn't a pleasant feeling. Harry was just happy he got to write a letter to them, rather than being forced to apologise in person.

Occasionally getting distracted by the beautiful day that it was shaping to be outside, Harry managed to get the first letter done relatively quickly. McGonagall's letter wasn't too bad to write either and despite her stern demeanour, Harry knew his head-of-house never stayed too angry for long. The woman could shout however and once again, Harry found himself thankful that he was apologising through a letter, rather than in person. Folding the two pieces of parchment in half, Harry leant back on his chair, fiddling with his thumbs.

All that hard work had made him thirsty but he wasn't stupid; he knew Remus would've put some kind of silent alarm on his door. A couple of years ago, Harry had attempted to escape his room after being sent there for an afternoon, but he only got as far as halfway down the stairs before a displeased Remus appeared at the bottom.

Knowing this, Harry opened the door and waited for Remus to either appear or call him. And, as if on cue…

"Harry?" Remus called from the bottom of the stairs. "Did you need something cub?"

Harry walked to the top of the stairs, despite knowing it had earned him a scolding in the past when he had found himself in similar situations.

"Could I have a drink please," He asked as politely as he could muster despite feeling pretty miserable.

"Of course, wait in your room and I'll bring it up to you." Remus smiled.

Harry knew how much Remus hated being the bad cop in parenting and he could tell he was trying to keep his spirits up.

Remus reached for a glass in the cupboard, before running it under the tap and filling it to half-full. He was just glad that they had made it an hour and a half into Harry's grounding before he attempted to stall and leave his room.

When Harry was younger, Remus couldn't even think about trying to keep the child in his bedroom all day as punishment. Harry was much too hyperactive and curious to stay in one room and Remus never fancied arguing with a six-year-old every time he was sent there.

The corner seemed to bring more success as it didn't require young Harry to be shut up all day but allowed Remus just enough of a break to keep his emotions under control.

Raising a child with both parents would be hard. Raising a child who had lost both parents and was being raised by their uncle sometimes felt near-impossible. There were no parenting books out there on how to raise the 'hero of the wizarding world' while being a werewolf but Remus tried his best and he wouldn't change anything. He loved Harry deeply, even when he had been sentenced to his room all day…

Picking up the glass of water, Remus walked up the stairs to Harry's room, pleasantly surprised that Harry had obeyed.

"Hey cub," - Remus spoke as he pushed the door open.

Harry was sitting at his desk with his head resting on his hand.

"How's it going?" The man asked before he regretted it slightly. He was sure the teen would have some kind of sarcastic reply.

"Not too bad," Harry replied before quickly correcting himself. "Well I'm bored out of my brain but I've done two of the letters." He held them up proudly to Remus.

"Good to hear. I'll check them over in a bit for spelling and grammar." Remus put the folded pieces of parchment in his pocket. "What about the letter for Professor Snape?"

"I haven't done his one yet." Harry admitted. "Do I really have to?"

Harry was sure Snape was quite possibly one of the most vile humans in existence. On his very first day, he had picked on Harry and ever since then, Harry was sure it was an all-out war. Remus and Snape were pretty civil with one another so Harry couldn't figure out the man's hatred for him.

Snape had even watched Harry a couple of times during a full moon when Remus's parents weren't available but that hadn't happened for a few years now.

"Do I really have to answer that?" Remus replied knowingly as Harry's frown deepened. "If you keep that up, your eyebrows will be stuck like that permanently."

Harry rolled his eyes. - "I'll do Snape's letter next."

"Glad to hear you say it like you have a choice in the matter," Remus teased as he folded his arms.

Harry rolled his eyes again.

"Something wrong with your eyes today?" Remus joked as he stood and gently took the child's glasses off his face. "It's almost like your eyes keep rolling at me. But you wouldn't do that to me would you Harry?" Remus lightly put a finger on Harry's cheek as if to mimic an eye test.

"Stooop-" Harry giggled as the man's light touches tickled his face, as he began wiggling around

Remus moved his fingers away from the child's eyes as he began to move around so that he didn't risk poking him in the eye. Instead, he began tickling Harry's tummy.

"Remussss!" Harry whined between gasps and giggles. "Stop it!"

Harry had escaped his desk chair and was now wiggling around on the floor. "Are you going to stop rolling your eyes at me?" Remus spoke in a mock-stern voice.

"Yes - I promise! YES!" Harry forced out as finally, Remus stopped tickling him.

Harry lay on the floor, trying to get his breath back. "I think - you've - killed me," he huffed out.

"Is being dramatic in the contract you sign when you become a teenager?" Remus held an arm out to help Harry up, which he took.

"No, but being a pain in your arse was." Harry replied before running to sit on his bed.

"The cheek - honestly!" Remus replied as he took a seat at the child's desk.

Harry grinned at his guardian as a silent moment came over them.

"I'll bring your lunch up in a bit,"

"Thanks, I thought I was going to die of starvation," Harry smirked.

Now it was Remus's turn to roll his eyes. "What do you fancy?"

Harry thought for a moment, "Maybe fish and chips?"

"From the chip shop or homemade by Nipa?"

"Nipa please," Harry replied. Nipa had been Remus's house elf for as long as Harry could remember. She did scold Harry from time to time but for the most part, he was quite fond of her.

Remus snapped his fingers and little Nipa appeared.

"Hello, Master Lupin Sir - what can I do for you?" Nipa bowed deeply.

Despite how much Remus and Harry had told Nipa that she didn't have to address them formally, she still struggled with getting out of the habit.

"Could you please make two portions of fish and chips - Oh, and add some peas on the plates too."

"Certainly Sir, will that be all?"

"Yes, thank you, Nipa." Remus answered as the elf disappeared. Moving to stand, Remus tapped Harry's knee. "I'm going downstairs for a bit but I will send your lunch up in a bit, okay?"

"Mmm," Harry replied as he moved to lie on his bed, something shifted in his demeanour.

"After lunch, you can get the letter for Snape written please."

"Okay," Harry replied as he lay on his back, staring up at the stars that Remus had charmed there when Harry was a child. Harry had been terrified of a storm one evening and to calm him down, Remus had charmed his ceiling but he never removed the charm so there it stayed.

Lupin knew Harry was a bit miffed that he wasn't going to be allowed out for lunch but running away wasn't something he wanted to ever have to deal with again. Sure, Harry had threatened it as a young boy and once even made it as far as the park before turning back home when he got hungry but he had never actually followed through like he had last night and it made the man feel sick to his stomach.

Closing the door lightly, Remus plodded downstairs, deciding to send a letter to his parents to occupy his time, seeing as he wasn't going to have company for most of the day.

Remus's parents were certainly getting on in age now, both in their sixties, which was something he never wanted to admit out loud. He loved them both dearly and in turn, they both adored Harry, treating him like their own grandchild, seeing as Remus had not had any biological children. With Harry being Remus's number one priority, he hadn't found the time for a partner, let alone more children.

Remus and his parents would often exchange letters back and forth as they lived quite a distance apart, with Hope and Lyall living in Wales and Remus living near Scotland, going on a day trip to see one another wasn't a common occurrence.

Scribbling down a few things that had happened recently, Remus contemplated telling them about Harry's little escapee last night but decided that, as they were both worriers, it should be something they were told about in person, the next time they saw Harry.

Sealing the letter with wax, Remus walked outside to the small owlery they had in the back garden. Their home had a number of charms placed on it so the muggles around them couldn't see things like the Owlry or the large quidditch rings that Remus recently had installed for Harry to practise with.

Placing the letter in Hedwig's mouth, Remus told her the destination and allowed her to fly away, just in time for another owl to come into view from the other direction, carrying a letter in its beak.

Remus waited until the owl was overhead before he held out his hands and caught the envelope. Walking back into the house, letter in hand, Remus noticed a face in the upstairs window was watching him, looking rather sorry for himself.

Suppressing a chuckle, Remus chose to ignore his teen's poor attempt at gaining sympathy and took a seat on the sofa and opened the letter.

Dear Remus Lupin,

I would like to warmly invite you to consider applying for the role of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for this autumn at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The role would provide accommodation in the teacher's wing of Hogwarts School, free meals and holiday -

Remus stopped reading to take a deep breath. He was lying to himself if he said he hadn't been waiting for a job like this to be offered to him or become available. Work as a registered Werewolf was, at times, practically impossible to obtain. Remus was lucky that his parents had the financial capabilities to support him and Harry if times got particularly tough as Remus often struggled to stay in a job for longer than a couple years at a time.

With Sirius Black on the loose as well, having a closer eye on Harry would be very reassuring. Especially considering the first two years Harry had had at Hogwarts and the trouble he had managed to get himself in. At times he even surpassed his father with his behaviour. Flying a car at twelve was almost unbelievable.

Remus would never admit however that he was largely considering the role to keep an eye on Harry because of Sirius Black. Harry did not even know the full extent of Remus's friendship with Black.

To Harry, Sirius was nothing more than a boy in his year. An acquaintance if you will.

Remus certainly felt awful that he was not able to share the full extent of Black and his friendship in school, particularly as Black and Harry's father James were practically Brothers. He felt he was doing it in Harry's best interests and he only hoped he was right.

Remus decided he would speak to Harry before he made any decisions about taking the job. After being out of work for a few months, however, Remus was really hoping that Harry wouldn't go mental about it.

"Would I be able to write to my friends this evening?" Harry asked. He realised that he hadn't heard much at all from either of them since his birthday almost four weeks ago and felt that they were long overdue for a little catch-up.

The pair had eaten dinner and Remus had announced the end of Harry's grounding. Partly because he was going spare, having to spend the day on his own, but also because he saw the boy's expression when he came down for dinner that made him feel positively horrible.

"That would be fine. I've moved the envelopes to my desk draw so you can grab a couple when you are finished writing them."

"Could I please take them to Hedwig when I'm done?"

Remus glanced at the clock and noted that it was getting rather late, and dark for that matter. "I think delivering it in the morning might be a better option. In fact, we can take it to Hedwig before we travel to Diagon Alley tomorrow afternoon."

"Why can't I just go tonight?"

"Because it will be dark by then and I want you to have an early night. They probably won't even be able to reply tonight anyway Harry." The man answered.

Admitting defeat, Harry sighed in reply as he went upstairs, to his room where he picked up a quill and some parchment. Walking back out and settling back down on the floor he stared blankly at the paper, wondering where to begin. He knew if he told Hermione about what happened last night then she would likely scold him but he didn't want to upset her by not saying anything. Particularly as Harry knew he was definitely telling Ron what had happened.

After around 20 minutes of writing and thinking, Harry decided that he had two decent letters that briefly explained how it had all happened last night as well as some chatty details.

"Where did you say the envelopes were again?" Harry questioned whilst standing up.

"In my office desk, 2nd draw down." Remus replied as he buried his face into a defence book.

Harry picked up the two letters and made his way down the corridor and entered the office. Moving behind the desk, he opened the second drawer and found two envelopes that fit the parchment adequately. Glancing down at the bottom drawer, Harry happened to notice a small key-shaped hole in the front that he had never taken much notice of before. Curiosity taking the best of him, he tried opening the draw but to no avail. Deciding after a few attempts that no matter how hard he tried to open it, it was clearly locked.

Harry couldn't help but wonder what could be so important but also small enough to be locked in a drawer. He thought about casting the alohomora charm but realised that his guardian would either hear the spell or wonder where he'd gone for so long. He'd have to do it another day when he was alone…

"I want to discuss something with you." Remus stated hoping his voice didn't sound half as apprehensive as he felt.

Harry looked up from his book at the man who looked quite solemn. The teen tried to rack his brain as to anything he could have possibly done wrong. He thought about the draw but he hadn't been able to open it and take anything; besides, the man had been in the living room the entire time Harry had been in the office.

"Don't worry, you aren't in trouble again cub." Remus couldn't help but comment, the boy's face gave away his emotions in a heartbeat. "Unless there is something I should be aware of?"

"No, no there isn't." Harry hastily replied. In that moment he instantly felt thankful that he had refrained from opening the drawer. After the trouble he had gotten into yesterday, he didn't plan on doing anything bad for a long time.

"I've been offered a job at Hogwarts."

"Oh."

Remus and Harry stared at each other. Both hoped the other would say something else. Harry began looking around the room.

"I haven't agreed to take it yet; I wanted to talk to you before I did." Remus explained as he watched the conflict on his son's face.

Harry certinaly did feel conflicted as, on the one hand he knew just how difficult it was for his guardian to find and job as a werewolf and how good he would be as a teacher. Remus had always been an excellent parent to him and in Harry's opinion, had resounding teacher qualities. However, it meant having a parent at school with him who would be privy to everything Harry got up to.

"Well - I would like to have you there. Really, I know how difficult it is to find work but -" Harry paused.

"You do not want me to be overbearing and into all of your business?" Remus answered knowingly.

"Yeah - I guess" Harry agreed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"How about, unless you do something in which a professor feels the need to notify a parent, I will not get involved and you will be like any other student?"

Remus knew how nice it was to go to Hogwarts and get away from parental control each term. He and his friends relished in it and it wasn't fair to completely take that away from Harry.

"I suppose that sounds good." Harry agreed.

"You'll likely have a bedroom in the teacher's wing but of course, you will not be required to stay in it unless you want to or are instructed by me."

"Hmm, alright."

"But Harry - if you don't want me to take it, now's the time to let me know." Remus spoke seriously. "Once I send this owl in the morning, then I won't be able to take it back. Think about it overnight, okay."

"Okay," Harry replied, having the overwhelming urge to give the man a hug. Reaching his arms out, Harry sat on the mans knee. "I want you to take it. You deserve to be happy too."

Remus felt his heart swell at his child's words. Pulling the child back with him, he planted a kiss on top of Harry's head. "You have the biggest heart, you know that?"

"Thanks," Harry replied, nustling his head into the man's chest, feeling quite content at his position.

Lupin had to admit he was surprised the child was sitting with him as it had been quite some time since he had done so. As a small child, Harry would do so almost every night but his pre-teen and teenage years came with different territory. Even his cuddly toy replica of Hedwig had been banished to the shelf when Harry got the real-life version.

"Did you finish the apology letter to Professor Snape?"

"Yeah, it's on my desk, although I don't think it's much good." said Harry honestly.

"I'll have a read through them all and I'll let you know if there are any mistakes before I send them off tomorrow morning."

Harry nodded into the man's chest.

Tapping the teen's lower back lightly Remus noted the time.

"I think you need to start getting yourself ready for bed."

A large yawn shook Harry's body as he sat up and slid off Lupin's lap. "Will you come and say goodnight?" He asked, despite knowing Remus nearly always did.

"Of course," the man answered as he watched the teen climb the stairs.

After the twenty-four hours they had had, Remus was thankful that Harry had gone up without a fuss. The past couple of days did however give him a sneak preview of what was to come with his teenage son and Remus was sure he would have a full head of grey hair by the end of it!

A/N

Let me know what you think! The first few chapters will be quite different to the original story but I'm hoping once they are both at Hogwarts, then I can start using old scenes from the previous story to make updates quicker!